Survival Of The Lightest: Zippo Invents A Four-In-One Camping Tool

Zippo Outdoor’s newest product is an axe, saw, stake puller, and mallet all in one.

Pivoting—the term for when a company switches from one industry to another—is common in the startup world. Less so amongst older companies, like Zippo, which was founded back in 1932. But pivot Zippo shall, away from lighters and towards outdoor gear, planning for a future in which fewer people smoke. Zippo Outdoor was made official last year, with a line of grills, tents, and gadgets geared for campers.

Their latest product is a four-in-one tool called the Woodsman—think of it as a Swiss Army knife on steroids. The triangular frame does a lot with a little: A 5-inch hatchet blade springs from one end of the black plastic grip, while from the other end, a hinged 15-inch saw blade pops out to connect to the tip of the axe’s orange safety guard. On the opposite end of the handle, a mallet head drives tent stakes, and finally, a metal hook pulls them out of the ground when it’s time to head home.

Some commenters are saying that the axe’s head isn’t deep enough, or that the saw blade isn’t long enough. And sure, the Woodsman definitely isn’t a replacement for heavy-duty jobs. But it does drastically cut down on weight during long backpacking trips, if you’re willing to give a little up in terms of functionality. Besides, most of us are only buying it so we have something to chop up furniture for firewood during the zombie apocalypse, right? The Woodsman will be available next spring, and will likely start at $80.

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At first I thought exactly like you. The next day instead, I thought that it may be a repulsive business strategy to show that they already know very well what they have been doing since ages & now it is time to show that they will be highly capable to cope with/invent the new products that do not exist in the market. Like they did by defining a new problem, resolving it by inventing a new interpretation of an object with an alternative proposal.